Please support our schools and VOTE YES on Measure A! 请支持A 提案！

Some people think their voices are not important in this mail in ballot, as they believe that initiatives to support our schools will always pass in Palo Alto. However that is a very risky assumption. Every vote matters in local elections and there appears to be an organized opposition to take away this funding.

Why:

If the current tax is allowed to expire, the district will lose nearly $13 million in revenue ( This represents 7% of the general fund budget. Since 2008, this is more than PAUSD gets from the State and the Federal Government).


This tax fully funds 85 full-time staff of which 67 are teachers specifically allocated for class size reduction, others include psychologists, librarians, and counselors. Without these funds, the district will struggle to provide reasonable class sizes, our current counseling program, and the enrichment classes ( art, music, theater, etc) that make school meaningful for many students.

Furthermore, $2.3M in new money from this tax is earmarked to invest in new programs to 1) support students who are struggling academically and socio-emotionally, and 2) invest in some new meaningful STEAM programs to better engage students and expand their opportunities.

Spending on this tax is monitored by an independent oversight committee and reviewed by an independent auditor. For the past 13 years ( since the tax was put in place) these independent groups have reported that the funds from this tax have been spent as promised to the community.

Taking away this funding is not going to be an effective way to address concerns. Less funds will not help us solve problems, it will only reduce the District's ability to make improvements to support students, and that will only undermine students who do not have the resources to get academic and socio-emotional support outside of school.

You can make a real difference! We need TWO Yes votes for every NO vote to pass this measure.